


Long Day

by orphan_account



Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-19
Updated: 2012-06-19
Packaged: 2017-11-08 03:04:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/438432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tag for 2x04, Meat. Even Jack gets worn out sometimes, and Gwen's constant defiance isn't helping. Ianto, as ever, is the voice of reason.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Long Day

Jack rolled his shoulders, carrying on with writing up his report, keeping one eye surveying the team. Gwen was with Rhys, sat in the autopsy bay as Owen put his arm in a sling. Tosh was on her computer, going through records and making sure any trace of the space whale and its meat were gone. Ianto… Jack frowned when he saw Ianto with a tray of drinks, wincing slightly as he walked. He was supposed to be resting. He signed his name at the end of the report and put it aside, just as the office door opened. His eyebrow rose as Gwen entered, but he leaned back in his chair, watching her as she sat down opposite him, waiting for her to say something. She sighed, opened her mouth, closed it again, then spoke. "How do you do it?" she asked, and he looked at her expectantly.

"Do what?" he queried.

"How do you manage having the person you love doing that every day? How can you sit there and send Ianto into the field, knowing he might not come back in one piece, or at all? Once was bad enough with Rhys, but all the time… how do you handle it?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly. Jack let out a long breath. How did he handle it? He remembered his stomach clenching and his heart racing as he stood watching Ianto have a gun pressed to his head. When Ianto had gotten free, wanting nothing more than to run to him and check him all over to see he was okay. But he'd had to put his duties as Torchwood leader first and send Ianto after the man. He'd had to wait until everyone was safe and back at the Hub before checking over his lover.

He looked up, realizing Gwen was still awaiting an answer. He ran a hand through his hair, thinking of the best way to phrase it. "I just have to. It's different for me, because as much as I want to protect Ianto and keep him safe in the Hub all the time, I know he can look after himself, and I know he's a perfectly capable field agent, Rhys isn't. But I just have to handle it; he hates it when I try and keep him behind," he told her. She frowned.

"I'm just glad Rhys doesn't work for Torchwood," she remarked, and he chuckled.

"Go back and sit with him, Owen will be done with him in a bit," he urged. She nodded, getting up from the chair and, after sending one last indecipherable look at Jack, left the office. Jack sighed, standing up himself and leaving, though taking a different route to Gwen, instead going to Tosh at the computers. He put a hand on her arm as he leant over her, letting her know he was reading over her shoulder. "Everything okay?" he asked quietly. She nodded, a slight smile on her face.

"Everything's fine, Jack. There were a couple of mentions of contracts with the firm, but I dissolved those, it'll be fine. Are you okay?" she asked. He gave her a bright smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Me? I'm always fine," he assured her. She gave him a look that told him she didn't believe him, then her eyes flicked over to the autopsy bay with a small upturn of her lips.

"Ianto's over there, in case you were wondering," she told him. Jack got the feeling she knew damn well he was just about to ask where his lover was. He grinned at her, squeezing her shoulder.

"Thanks," he replied, walking over to the autopsy bay, where Ianto was leaning against the railing, jacket gone somewhere and shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows. He turned and smiled when Jack approached, and the immortal man grinned back. "Hey, how are you?" he asked in concern. Ianto rolled his own eyes as Jack's crystal blue ones scanned his bare skin for bruising.

"I'm fine, Jack. Just a little sore, I'll heal," he insisted. Jack frowned, his arm wrapping around Ianto's waist as he stood beside him.

"I still worry about you, I can't help it," he murmured. Ianto kissed his temple.

"I know, Cariad. I worry, too. But it's my job," he reminded him. Jack smiled.

"And you do it so well," he praised, making Ianto blush slightly. Jack moved so his arms were either side of Ianto, trapping him against the railing. Not that Ianto minded, of course. Jack lifted one hand up to gently stroke Ianto's jaw, which had a slowly purpling bruise standing out starkly against the pale skin. "I hate it when you get hurt," he muttered, and Ianto smiled at him.

"Hazard of the job, I'm afraid," he replied. Jack pouted slightly, then leaned forward to press a long kiss to Ianto's lips. The two were so wrapped up in the kiss, they didn't realize they had an audience before Rhys spoke.

"Well, thank God for that," he announced, and Jack and Ianto broke apart, a slight blush gracing Ianto's cheeks while Jack just raised an eyebrow at Rhys. "Well if you two are gay, the only one I've got to worry about taking my girl is him," he reasoned, nodding towards Owen. Gwen laughed, though it was slightly forced, and Jack and Ianto shared a pointed look that – thankfully – Rhys didn't catch. Owen let a small smirk cross his lips, before it was gone and he turned back to Rhys, handing him some painkillers. Jack gave Ianto a little grin, pecking him on the lips once more.

"I've got to get back to work, 'kay?" he said quietly, and Ianto nodded, smiling, his hands releasing Jack's hips, allowing the older man to walk away and go back up to his office.

.-.-.

Ianto watched silently as Jack and Gwen had their yelling match in the middle of the Hub. He kept his face straight as Jack stared Gwen down, dismissing her with growled words, and wordlessly passed Jack his cup as the captain stalked past him, heading for his office. The cog door rolled back into place, closing behind Gwen, and there was silence in the Hub once more. Owen, Tosh and Ianto shared glances, and Ianto sighed. "I'm going to go talk to Jack," he said quietly, turning on his heel and following Jack's path up to the captain's office. When he got there, he knocked on the door, but Jack didn't say anything. He tentatively opened the door, frowning when he didn't see Jack. He cocked his head, listening, and his eyes lit up knowingly when he heard soft rustling coming from Jack's bunker underneath the office. He toed off his shoes, leaving them neatly beside the hole, then climbed down the ladder. Jack was sat on the bed, knees tucked under his chin and arms wrapped around his knees. He didn't make any move to show he realized Ianto was there, but leant into his lover's side when Ianto slung an arm around his shoulder, kissing his hair. After a few moments, Jack let out a frustrated noise.

"There are times when I really hate this job, you know?" he murmured, and Ianto nodded, pulling Jack half onto his lap, holding him.

"I know. But there are more times when you love it. Gwen will get over it, just give her some time to cool off. It's been a long day for everyone, especially Gwen and Rhys," he reasoned, a hand carding through Jack's hair soothingly.

"I know that. It's just, she's always fighting my decisions, and I wish that for once she'd just listen to me. I understand where she's coming from, not Retconning Rhys, but I don't want us getting found out just because he ran his mouth," Jack replied, an annoyed edge to his tone. Ianto pressed a kiss to Jack's forehead.

"I know, but you have to see where Gwen's coming from. She hates keeping secrets from Rhys, I mean, they're engaged, and Torchwood has been a rift between them since Gwen joined. She doesn't want to keep her job secret anymore, and now he knows, she'd like it to stay that way so she won't have to lie and make excuses anymore," he explained.

"Ianto, I know how that feels more than anyone. You know I had a wife, I couldn't tell her about Torchwood, and I never did. Gwen's always trying to break the rules when she doesn't like them, even if they're for our safety, and everyone else's," Jack insisted with frustration. Ianto sighed, keeping calm for the sake of the older man. Jack needed to work out his irritation, or it would build up and explode quite dramatically.

"Isn't that partly what you hired her for? A 'human perspective'?" he murmured, using Gwen's words. He was still mildly insulted at the insinuation that none of them were human, but reasoned that for Gwen to think that, she obviously didn't know them as well as they knew each other. That, childishly, made him feel better.

Jack snorted, leaning back into Ianto's chest, playing absently with his lover's fingers. "There are times when I wonder…" he mused, trailing off. Ianto didn't need him to finish.

"You do like having her on the team," he told him, reminding him that as much as Gwen irritated him – hell, all of them – sometimes, she had become a vital part of the team. "Just… let Rhys know about Torchwood. He seems like a good bloke, and it's what their relationship needs. Imagine if I went off at all hours of the day and night, claiming 'work', and you had no idea where I went. What would you think?" he pointed out. Jack stayed silent, and Ianto knew he'd won. He felt sorry for Rhys; it must have been hell not to know where Gwen was, who she was with, or what she was doing, to be fobbed of with half-arsed excuses and outright lies. "See? Just leave them to sort it out. She's got enough stress with all the preparation for the wedding," he added. Jack snorted, smiling up at Ianto through half-lidded eyes, tiredness showing clearly on his face.

"Ah, yes, the wedding," he murmured wryly, and Ianto gave him a look that was somewhere between chiding and amused. "Speaking of which; go with me?" Jack asked hopefully, turning blue puppy-eyes on his lover. Ianto chuckled, pressing his lips to the other man's.

"Do you even have to ask?" he said by way of reply. "What time is it?" Jack frowned, glancing at his watch.

"Time for everyone to go home," he answered, reluctantly getting to his feet. Not bothering to put their shoes back on, both he and Ianto padded with socked feet up to the main Hub, easily spotting Tosh and Owen at work at their respective stations. "Hey!" Jack called, garnering their attention. "Get out of here," he urged. Owen didn't need to be told twice, immediately moving the body he was autopsying into the freezer. Tosh, however, wasn't quite so eager.

"Oh, but Jack, I'm just running this-"

"Finish it in the morning," Jack interrupted, his eyes telling her that it wasn't a request. The Asian woman sighed, but nodded, picking up her bag and typing something into her computer. Jack and Ianto waited until the cog door rolled shut behind the pair, then turned to meet each other's eyes. "Bed?" Jack suggested, sliding an arm loosely around Ianto's waist. Ianto leaned his head against Jack's shoulder, feeling his lover's lips against his hair.

"Gladly."

It had been a very long day.


End file.
